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Friday, April 8, 2016

Marfa Lights - The Explanation Eludes

(This picture is from the Marfa webpage noted below)

I was headed for Big Bend National Park in Texas from Tucson, AZ and chose Marfa, TX for my overnight stay. Marfa is just north of Big Bend.

I came across the Marfa Lights viewing point and it has bathrooms and I parked with a few campers for the night. About dusk the parking lot filled up with lots of people that had come to see the Marfa Lights. The lights are of unknown origin.

People gathered in the viewing deck at the pavilion where the bathrooms are.

Lots of cars and people there as well as train going by.

This guy in his class A invited the taller guy next to him, that had a class b with plates from the Netherlands, on top of the class A as a viewing platform. (Must have brought it over on a boat.)

The guy in the class A was so anxious about the opportunity to see the lights.

While I was waiting for the lights to appear I saw these beautiful flowers so I took their picture.

This group of young adults came early and stood way away from the road all buzzing about seeing the lights.

An interesting sunset came and also foretells tomorrow's weather.

Then the guy on the class A seemed excited and was pointing south but the guy from the Netherlands didn't seem excited at all. They came down from the top of the class A. Everyone went to their cars and left and I went in my car and had a good night sleep.

I saw no lights - must have been the wrong night.

The following website explains the lights. The italicized text is from the website.

http://www.visitmarfa.com/lights.php#.Vwptx8g8LCT

THE MARFA LIGHTS

Accounts of strange and unexplained phenomena just outside of Marfa began during the 19th century and continue to this day. Ranchers, Apaches, high school sweethearts and famous meteorologists alike have reported seeing seemingly sourceless lights dance on the horizon southeast of town, an area that is nearly uninhabited and extremely difficult to traverse. The mystery lights are sometimes red, sometimes blue, sometimes white, and usually appear randomly throughout the night, no matter the season or the weather.

Website photo

While the source of the mystery lights is still a point of contention, the show goes on. By most reports, they are whimsical and friendly; other witnesses maintain that they are ever distant and aloof; and some sources claim they zoom across the plains at terrifying speed, only to whip back around and dissolve before hitting the dumbstruck viewer.

The cynics will tell you that this so-called paranormal phenomenon is just the atmospheric reflections of cars and campfires at night. The mystics will tell you that’s hooey.

“What roads?” “Which camp fires?”

The truth is, we just don’t know.

Everyone agrees it’s a mystery to be reckoned with.

There’s only one way to find out for yourself.

The official Marfa Lights Viewing Area is located 9 miles east of town on Highway 90, towards Alpine. Bring an open mind.

I woke in the am to low clouds and rain falling on the car. I got up and it was 43 degrees outside.

I was 2 hours north of Big Bend NP and I didn't want to wait for the storm to pass and I didn't want to chance driving to Big Bend to find out it was lousy weather too. If I'm going to visit the park I was going to disburse camp and hike. I dont want to go unless I can enjoy my visit.

A check of the weather showed the rain and cool weather would be here for at least another day, so I left for Patre Island and warmer weather. I have passed Big Bend by in past years due to bad weather too so this National Park will will remain a future place to see.

About Me

I retired from as
Fire Chief and Emergency Management Director for the Town of Westminster in
2014.Growing up I became an on-call
firefighter and continued in the Fire Department while I kept a full-time
career in high tech, eventually becoming the full-time Fire Chief in 1998, with
the downturn in the tech sector.

I have been
fortunate to have had many wonderful experiences working in the private sector
before my full-time employment before becoming Fire Chief/EMD. This
included being an Electronic Technician, and Manufacturing engineer for Bowmar/ALI,
Inc. Leominster/Acton MA, National Service Manager for Bruel and Kjaer
Instruments, Inc., Marlborough, MA, and Engineering Coordinator,
Manufacturing Project Manager, Group Manager, and Program Manager for Digital
Equipment Corporation/Compaq Computer Corporation, various locations in MA&
NH.

I continue to
teach Fire Science Degree Programs at Mount Wachusett Community College,
Gardner, MA, where I have been an Adjunct Professor since 2000.

I have received
degrees at the following institutions:

Lesley College; Masters of
Science in Management, January 1984

Fitchburg State College; Bachelor of Science in History, June 1979

Mount
Wachusett Community College; Associate in Electronic Engineering, June 1977.